Also, the big Web companies fight for net neutrality, Sotheby’s and eBay join forces, scientists have too much time on their hands, a reason to buy a smartwatch, and proof that cancelling Comcast is a complete nightmare.

Microsoft Chases Cheap With Windows

Those people seeking a cheap computer will likely be spoilt for choice in the near future, with Microsoft announcing that several affordable Windows laptops are incoming. The Acer Aspire ES1 is already available for $249, while Toshiba has a $249 option due out by the end of the year. Meanwhile, HP has a range of “Stream” devices on the way, with prices ranging from $99 to $199.

While announcing the affordable Windows machines during the 2014 Worldwide Partner Conference, Microsoft COO Kevin Turner said, “We are going to participate at the low-end. We’ve got a great value proposition against Chromebooks, we are not ceding the market to anyone.”

British Spies Manipulate The Internet

Another day, another revelation into how the security services are affecting our everyday lives. This one concerns British spies working at GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) who, according to documents obtained by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, regularly manipulate the Internet.

As detailed by The Intercept, the Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group (JTRIG) allegedly has the capability to “change [the] outcome of online polls,” enact the “disruption of video-based websites hosting extremist content,” “artificially increase traffic to a website,” and launch a “distributed denial of service using P2P,” amongst other things.

Sotheby’s Teams Up With eBay

Auction house Sotheby’s has teamed up with online auctioneers eBay, with many of the former’s offline auctions due to be streamed on the latter’s website. This means eBay’s customers could potentially bid on fine wines and ever finer art. As long as they have sufficient funds in their PayPal account, presumably. The New York Times has all the details.

Scientists Create The Blackest Black

British scientists have created a new material that’s being described as the blackest black ever seen. Or rather, not seen. Vantablack, as the material is called, absorbs “all but 0.035 percent of visual light,” meaning the human eye cannot determine shapes, folds, or contours within the material. Unfortunately, it could be a long time before Vantablack is used for one of Chanel’s little black numbers.

Confounding Comcast Cancellation Call

And finally, for all its pros and cons, living in a capitalist society means you should be able to cancel a service at will if you find a better, or cheaper, alternative. In fact, the “why” isn’t important, it’s just a basic right to take your custom elsewhere.

I can't find the Acer es1 for the price quoted in the article. On Amazon.com, it's 278.19. On Amazon.ca, only one dealer (from the US) offers it - for 477.48! There's no excuse for this, the exchange rate isn't that bad. So, unfortunately, it looks like you quoted a press release without verifying.

As for all those who insist on trashing MS not matter what they do, please, if you don't like or use Windows, go comment on articles about Mac or Linux or whatever.

"As for all those who insist on trashing MS not matter what they do, please, if you don’t like or use Windows, go comment on articles about Mac or Linux or whatever."
You're quite right, Michel. Unless posters have something nice to say about M$, they should not post. At this point M$ needs all the positive comments it can get. After all, they DID get rid of Prancing Steve.

With consumer electronics, you get what you pay for, whether it's laptops, tablets, chromebooks, phones or A/V equipment. The proper verb to describe a $250 laptop that's priced to include a Windows license is "inflicted", and I imagine those of us in more technical career paths with become very familiar with this latest round of garbage hardware.

Having used a Chromebook as my main device for the past year I'm reserving judgement. If Microsoft is offering Windows 8.1 to these vendors for free or close to it then they could be OK. One of the $249 has an SSD, which would be a prerequisite for me.

"British Spies Manipulate The Internet" - you mean to say that NSA is not the only agency messing with the citizens? Oh My! Even the above-reproach Brits are doing dastardly deeds on the Internet. What is this world coming to?!

"Sotheby’s Teams Up With eBay" - Politics may make for strange bedfellows but so does business.

"Vantablack is the new black." - I thought Orange was the new Black.

"Confounding Comcast Cancellation Call" - that's nothing new. I remeber trying to unsubscribe from AOL years back. It was like trying to get chewing gum off your shoe on a hot day. No matter what you tried to do to remove it, some piece always kept sticking to you.

Dave Parrack is a journalist from the UK. Growing up at a time when the internet was blossoming inspired his fascination with technology. With 10 years experience writing online, he's currently the Tech News writer and Entertainment editor at MakeUseOf. You can follow him at About.me.